After A Hard Day
by athaye12
Summary: Bonnie reflects on her day after work and school and confides in her cowgirl doll. Set about 10 years after Toy Story 3.


**Oy, can you say writers block? I'm in the midst of working on my next chapter for my other story, but this little one shot came into my mind. We've all had bad days and what not at work and/or school and coming home is one of the best feelings in the world after a hard day. **

**Set maybe about 10 years in the future:**

* * *

Seventeen year old Bonnie Anderson pulled into the drive way of her home and put her car into park. She turned off the vehicle and leaned her head back against the headrest of the driver's seat and exhaled loudly. Another long day of school and work came and went, and usually the teen would come home and forget about the day; but tonight proved to be difficult.

Right when she turned sixteen, she applied for a cashier position at the local grocery store and was overjoyed when she immediately got hired. The job was perfect because the hours were good and the management was more than helpful when it came to scheduling around school days. Overall, she was happy with her job and all she wanted was to prove she could do a good job and grabbed all the extra hours that were offered to her. Despite her lack of a social life, she knew how to handle customers pretty well and work was a good outlet to get her mind off things.

Too well in fact, that all Bonnie felt like she did that night was wait on nothing but rude customers. She hated that she always felt like she upset the customer somehow as she was nothing but nice to them. Her mother always told her to "kill them with kindness", but there was a point where a friendly smile would be wiped immediately off her face as a customer would go off on a coupon not working, or a price not being right.

The day at school started uneventful until one of the cheerleaders gave her a weird look and started whispering about Bonnie's leggings during lunch; then at work, every other customer seemed to have an issue. Feeling defeated, Bonnie inwardly cheered when her shift ended.

Looking at the clock, the time read 10:25 PM and Bonnie sighed and shuffled into her house. She greeted her mother on the way to her room and flopped down on her bed. Closing her eyes, she let the comfort of her room and the quietness soak in for a few minutes. She then rolled over onto her side and looked at her favorite cowgirl doll sitting on the pillow beside her. Bonnie looked around her room and saw her cowboy doll at the foot of the bed, her Buzz Lightyear up on the bookcase smiling at her, and all the rest of her toys in other parts of the room.

Being seventeen, she still had a few of her childhood toys and found comfort in them. Not having many friends, she would sit and draw her toys in various scenarios she used to imagine them in as a child. She grew quite fond of her Jessie the Cowgirl doll over the years after learning about Woody's Roundup and the cowgirl's role in the show. One day, Bonnie hoped to have the same confidence Jessie has.

After changing into her pajamas and brushing her teeth, she snuggled under her comforter and scooted her Jessie doll closer to her. Staring into the painted green eyes, she imagined herself as a fearless cowgirl, riding her horse fast through the open prairies as her troubles fell behind her with every gallop.

"One day, things will work out, Jess. I'll have a good job with no more rude customers, a good husband, and nobody will ridicule me for trying to be myself. I'll be free to do whatever I want," Bonnie whispered to her cowgirl doll, a single tear slipping down her cheek.

As the teenager drifted off to sleep, Jessie softly ran her hand through her owner's hair and frowned. She hated to see Bonnie so upset, especially after a hard day like today. She knew the girl didn't have many friends, currently struggling to find a prom date, and stressed from the customers at her job, but Bonnie held her head up strong. Only nights like these, would Bonnie talk to Jessie, and only Jessie, about her troubles from earlier in the day. To some degree, the cowgirl knew what it was like to be in situations similar to what her owner currently faced.

"Jess?"

Jessie felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her head to see her space ranger sitting next to her. She smiled up at Buzz and ran her hand along his cheek.

"I'm gonna stay up here with Bonnie, Buzz. She had a rough day and I wanna be by her jus' in case she needs me," she hoped her boyfriend would get the hint. Buzz only knew that Bonnie was secretly stressing, but Jessie felt like the details was something to be kept between her and Bonnie.

The space ranger understood and gave Jessie a tender, goodnight kiss. After a loving exchange, the space ranger hopped down the bed and lied down on the shelf. The cowgirl watched him go, then turned back to her owner. She ran her hand through the girl's hair once more before laying close to the sleeping teenager.

The cowgirl lightly kissed the top of Bonnie's head before closing her eyes. She was prepared to keep all the negative thoughts and people away from her owner as she slept. Before sleep overtook the cowgirl, she noticed Bonnie's face become calmer as the troublesome expression melted away.


End file.
